Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
Frontier buys $31M worth of antacids for the ocean
Frontier, the carbon removal clearinghouse founded by Google, Strip, Shopify, and others, announced today that it is buying 115,208 metric tons of carbon removal credits from geoengineering startup Planetary in a deal worth $31.2 million. Where most Frontier deals to date have bought carbon from startups specializing in direct air capture, enhanced weathering, or bioenergy…
Spotify launches a messaging feature in a bid to become more social
Spotify is introducing a way for you to chat with your friends on the app in a bid to become a more social content consumption app. Users have shared Spotify links for music and podcasts with others outside the platform for years. With this feature, Spotify wants users to do more of that within the…
Tesla could have avoided that $242.5M Autopilot verdict, filings show
Months before a jury awarded a $242.5 million verdict against Tesla over its culpability in a 2019 fatal crash, the automaker had a chance to settle for $60 million. Instead, Tesla rejected that offer, according to new legal filings that were first reported by Reuters. The settlement proposal, which was made in May, was disclosed…
a16z spends $1.49M in Washington lobbying, while rivals mostly sit out
Andreessen Horowitz’ plan to push its agenda in Washington shows no sign of slowing down, with the firm reporting $1.49 million in federal lobbying so far this year, according to lobbying records filed with Congress. A16z is even narrowly outspending its own industry trade group, the National Venture Capital Association. The pace of lobbying appears…
Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is probably the biggest movie in theaters
A singalong version of the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” is on-track to earn $18 million to $20 million in theaters this weekend, making it the number one movie at the domestic box office. And that’s despite only being in theaters for two-thirds of the weekend (namely, Saturday and Sunday). This isn’t the first…
Former Meta exec Nick Clegg offers careful criticism of ‘cloyingly conformist’ Silicon Valley
Meta’s former policy chief Nick Clegg seems to be walking a tightrope as he promotes his upcoming book, “How to Save the Internet.” Unlike certain other Meta employee memoirs, “How to Save the Internet” doesn’t sound like a tell-all or a scathing critique. And in an interview with the Guardian, Clegg (who previously led the…
Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law
Social networking startup Bluesky has made the decision to block access to its service in the state of Mississippi, rather than comply with a new age assurance law. In a blog post published on Friday, the company explains that, as a small team, it doesn’t have the resources to make the substantial technical changes this…
Pintarnya raises $16.7M to power jobs and financial services in Indonesia
Pintarnya, an Indonesian employment platform that goes beyond job matching by offering financial services along with full-time and side-gig opportunities, said it has raised a $16.7 million Series A round. The funding was led by Square Peg with participation from existing investors Vertex Venture Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures. Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari,…
US government plans to take a 10% stake in Intel
The U.S. government plans to take a 10% stake in Intel, President Donald Trump told reporters Friday. Bloomberg was first to report the news, which pushed the semiconductor chip company’s stock up more than 7%. Trump said Intel has agreed to the proposal. Intel declined to comment. The news comes during a pivotal — and…
The Trump administration’s big Intel investment comes from already awarded grants
Intel officially announced an agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday afternoon, following Trump’s statement that the government would be taking a 10% stake in the struggling chipmaker. While Intel says the government is making an “$8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock,” the administration does not appear to be committing new funds. Instead,…
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